There are numerous connector arrangements for providing multiple contact connections. Such multi-pin connectors have been used on the top or on the sides of portable two-way radios for the connection of microphones and other accessory items.
It is desirable to use sealed flush contacts on such devices as radios since such contacts not only inhibit the intrusion of foreign substance such as water and dust, but also provide smooth, clean, exterior surfaces. In the past, such multiple contacts mated with multiple contact connectors which generally required a fairly bulky connector accessory plug in order to provide for the interconnection of multi-conductor cables of accessories with the electrical contacts of the accessory connector adapter. Not only are these connectors bulky, comprising either an integral or separate plug and adapter, but they are also costly.
The prior art connectors are large and costly, because multiple one-to-one wire paths were involved even for a simplex portable radio. Usually, each of three common accessories, an ear piece speaker, a microphone, and a Push-to-Talk (PTT) switch (the PTT switch may be made integral with the microphone), have two wires, an active wire and a ground wire. Conventionally, when all the ground wires are connected together in one common path, there would still be four total paths, since the active wires of the speaker, microphone and PTT switch were not shared.
Since there is a trend to design future radios to be small, there is also a need to design for and/or standardize such accessory connectors (accessory radio connection adapters and plugs) to one that is both small and inexpensive.